News roundup - Thursday, 8 August

Parliamentary committee gives nod to Commission candidate Vesel

LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary EU Affairs Committee endorsed Slovenia's EU commissioner candidate Tomaž Vesel. In his presentation, the former Court of Audit president stressed the need for cooperation with MEPs and MPs. He feels there are no insignificant portfolios in the European Commission, which he sees facing major challenges solvable through compromise. Vesel, who was put forward by the senior coalition Freedom Movement, was backed by nine committee members, while six opposition members abstained.

EU commissioner endorses Slovenia's CMU development initiative

BRUSSELS, Belgium - European Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and the Capital Markets Union Mairead McGuinness expressed support for the joint initiative of Slovenia, Austria and Croatia for the further development of the capital markets union and for increasing the competitiveness of the EU. In his response to a letter from the three countries' finance ministers, the commissioner also announced in-depth talks to accelerate the development of European capital markets.

Migrant processing facility opens in Obrežje

OBREŽJE - The Novo Mesto Police Department confirmed that a migrant processing facility opened at the former Obrežje border crossing at the end of July, allowing the police to perform all necessary measures related to migrants at one location. Processing is also easier in cases of unaccompanied minors as social workers have to be present during the process. The centre can hold up to 100 people at one time. Migrants stay there only a few hours before being transferred to asylum centres.

Slovenia deploying helicopter again to help fight N Macedonia fires

LJUBLJANA - The government decided to send a Slovenian Armed Forces helicopter to North Macedonia again to assist the country as it continues to battle wildfires. The Cougar will be deployed on Saturday for seven days, along with six members of the Slovenian Armed Forces and two members of the Civil Protection and Disaster Relief Administration. This is the third time in a month that Slovenia has responded to North Macedonia's request for assistance through the EU civil protection mechanism.

NLB gets all regulatory approvals to acquire Summit Leasing

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's leading bank, NLB, has obtained all required regulatory approvals to acquire the outright stake in the leasing company Summit Leasing Slovenija. The bank announced that the transaction is expected to be completed in mid-September. NLB signed the agreement to acquire 100% stake in SLS Holdco, the parent company of Summit Leasing Slovenija, and its subsidiaries from funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management and the EBRD last November.

Report says Celjske Mesnine sale delayed

LJUBLJANA - The sale of Celjske Mesnine, a Slovenian meat processing company, to Croatian group Braća Pivac has fallen through for now. The deal will not be possible at least in the next few months as courts imposed restrictions on stakes that would be part of the sale, the news portal Necenzurirano reported. In early July, the Klagenfurt registry court banned the majority owner and CEO of the company Izidor Krivec from disposing of his stake in the Austrian company CM Invest, through which he controls the Celje-based meat processing company.

Pharmacy and mechanical engineering faculties to get new facilities

LJUBLJANA - The University of Ljubljana announced that the faculties of pharmacy and mechanical engineering, which have been grappling with serious space constraints in the city centre for years, has been granted construction permits to build new facilities. By 2030 they are expected to become part of the Brdo Campus, one of four campuses in the capital. The construction of the two new buildings is slated to start in 2025. The estimated total cost was EUR 106 million in 2020. However, as prices have risen significantly since, the actual investment value is likely to be higher, the newspaper Delo said.

Slovenian handball team makes it to Paris Olympics semifinal

LILLE, France - Slovenia defeated Norway 33:28 in the Olympic men's handball tournament in Lille late on Wednesday to advance to the semifinal where they will face Denmark on Friday evening. This is the best result the team has so far achieved at the Olympic Games and one of the best performances in the history of Slovenia's team sports. The team's previous best result was sixth place at Rio 2016. They are proud of their win but also aware that it is not over yet.

Turkish businessman Ilicali to invest in Maribor football club

MARIBOR - Turkish entrepreneur Acun Ilicali, who owns the English club Hull City, is willing to invest in the football club Maribor in a decision that he told reporters in Maribor was motivated by the football-friendly environment in Slovenia's second city and also by talks with UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin. Ilicali signed a letter of intent with Maribor in May, in which he and the club's leadership defined the objectives of future cooperation.

Dozen mortar shells found at bottom of Lake Bled

BLED - After a foreign diver found a mortar shell at the bottom of Lake Bled, a total of 12 WWII shells were detected in the lake at the depth of around seven metres, and were removed and destroyed by the unexploded ordnance protection unit, the Kranj Police Department said. They were Italian-made brixia mines from WWII. In 2010 more than 100 mortar shells from World War I were discovered in Lake Bohinj.